Mindy Devenport, a student at Montana State University, wears the belt buckle of a 2009 champion, won at a University of Montana competition. — Charlie Neuman / Union-Tribune Rodeo competition has helped pay Mindy and Destri Devenport’s way through college, and youngest sister Macy, shown with her horse Foxy, is on track to follow in their footsteps. — Charlie Neuman / Union-Tribune

RODEO ROUNDUP

New to rodeo? Here’s a guide to some of the sport’s more popular events:

Team roping: The only team event in rodeo. One person ropes the cow’s head while the other ropes the heels or legs.

Barrel racing: A timed event in which horse and rider round barrels in a cloverleaf pattern as fast as they can.

Pole bending: Similar to barrel racing, but horse and rider run through poles instead of barrels. This sport is practiced at the high school level.

Breakaway roping: A highly skilled, timed event in which the cowboy or cowgirl must rope a calf or cow as fast as possible.

— Nina Garin

Even though the Devenport ﻿sisters — Mindy, Destri ﻿and Macy — live five minutes away from North County’s biggest mall, they can’t be bothered to go there.

Not when there are wide, open spaces to roam at their 38-acre Escondido horse ranch, where they can do what they love best: rodeo.

The sisters, who grew up riding and tending to horses at their parents’ San Pasqual Valley Ranch, are all rodeo champions, collecting titles and awards from all over San Diego, the state and even nationwide.

Their titles include a high school rookie of the year for each sister, regional and district championships as well as state championships in various categories. They also have hundreds of elaborate belt buckles that they won, which they use to accessorize their outfits the way other Southern California teens use handbags.

“We were born into it,” said Mindy Devenport, 23. “Our parents put us on a saddle before we could walk. By the time we were 3 years old, we each had our own horse.”

As preschoolers, the sisters were also introduced to the dusty, outdoorsy life of rodeo. Many events, like barrel racing, roping, cutting and pole running were held at their ranch. Most every night, cowboys and cowgirls arrived at their arena, ready to show how fast they could rope a calf or how quickly they could run through a pattern of barrels.

“We’d show up to the rodeo when we were 4 or 5 years old, and then we’d just be gone, off with our friends,” said Macy Devenport, 16. “It’s such a safe, supportive community. It really is just like being around family.”

But the Devenports’ love of rodeo is more than just a hobby or something to do on the weekends. It’s an all-consuming way of life that involves plenty of hard work, too.

Each sister has six personal horses she must feed, groom and care for, with 22 horses in the family. Then there are the rodeo cows that need attention. On top of that, the sisters also lend a hand with the horses that board at San Pasqual Valley Ranch and give riding and rodeo lessons to folks who show up.

“We can be outside from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” said Destri Devenport, 18. “There’s no sleeping in. We’re all expected to pull our own weight and help out.”

Because of the demanding life on a ranch, the sisters opted to be home-schooled so they could devote more time to practice and training. They must maintain a 2.0 grade-point average to compete, but instead of spending all day in a classroom, the sisters study early in the morning or late at night, depending on what needs to be done.

“We tried public school for a while,” Mindy said. “But it was hard for people to understand that rodeo always comes first. Like when it came to us choosing between a soccer game or a rodeo, rodeo would always win. It’s our lifestyle. It’s literally in our blood.”

The sisters may have sacrificed proms and football games for dusty arenas and stables, but it’s also helped them pay their way through college.

Mindy is on scholarship at Montana State University while Destri was scouted by New Mexico State University; she received a scholarship. Youngest sister Macy is on track to follow in their footsteps.

“I really want to go pro,” Macy said. “I’m kind of the businesswoman of the family, so I just want to go to a college that will help me achieve that.”

Even the Devenport vacations aren’t about leisure but rather road trips to places like Central California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas for competitions.

“It’s not all work,” Destri said. “We’ll find time to go bowling or hang out with friends. It’s nice because 99 percent of our friends are from rodeo.”

The sisters said that spending so much time together, especially secluded from places like the mall or high school cafeteria, has made them extremely close.

But it’s also bred competition.

Because of their closeness in age, Macy and Destri often competed against each other at the high-school level. And Destri and Mindy may just see each other at the national rodeo college finals this June.

“We’ve always pushed each other to do better,” Macy said. “We’ll share horses or trade tips. It makes competitions more fun. Destri and I were never more than 10 points apart in competitions.”

Though they don’t always win, Mindy said they’re always happy when someone in the family brings home a title.

“It’s not always fun, especially when you don’t win,” she said. “But we’re always happy to keep it in the family.”

Given their tightknit lifestyle, the two older sisters said they often get homesick being away at college. Macy, however, doesn’t feel quite so sad.

“I definitely get more attention from my parents now,” she joked.

And it’s their parents, Lynn and Delia ﻿— who have owned horse ranches in Texas and New Mexico before moving to California more than 10 years ago — whom they credit for their success.

“Our parents never forced us to do rodeo,” Destri said. “They’ve always been supportive of us and push us to go after our goals, no matter what they were.”